Message transmitting system



3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Az yuat D- 5 1368011 BY ATTORNEY A. D. EITZEN MESSAGE TRANSMITTING SYSTEM Original Filed Sept. 16, 1953 April 12, 1938.

A. D. EITZEN MESSAGE TRANSMITTING SYSTEM April 12, 1938.

3 SheetsSheet 2 Original Filed Sept. 16, 1933 INVENTOR W ATTORNEY April 12, 1938.

A. D. EITZEN MESSAGE TRANSMITTING SYSTEM Original Filed Sept. l6, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR igzut D.

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MESSAGE TRANSMITTING SYSTEM Application September 16, 1933, Serial No. 689,693 Renewed November 2'7, 1936 1 Claim.

This invention relates to message transmitting systems in general and more especially to message transmitting systems for translating markings on a tape or the like into electric impulses and transmitting such impulses to a receiving station there again to be converted or translated into markings on a tape.

Among the objects of the present invention, it is aimed to provide an improved message transmitting system for translating the electric impulses corresponding to a message into perforations or the like markings on a tape associated with means for projecting images of the markings on the tape or images of the background or outlines of the markings on the tape.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved message transmitting system including means for translating the markings on a tape into electric impulses, electrically transmitting such electric impulses to a receiving station having means for translating such electric impulses into tape markings by decomposing a portion of the receiving tape either the structure itself in the form of perforations or changing portions of the structure itself either by changing its coating or its composition in the form of character defining markings as for instance by a distinguishing color when the tape itself constitutes the ultimate message or by a distinguishing light :30 passing track when the tape is used as a slide or film to impress an image of the characters on a light beam ultimately to be reproduced on a screen.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved means for electrically perforating a tape in accordance with the message transmitted.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved means for electrically marking a tape in accordance with the message transmitted.

These and other features, capabilities and advantages of the invention will appear from the r) subjoined detail description of specific embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 illustrates more or less diagrammatically a telegraph printer associated with a trans- 50 mitting station and a receiving station according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 1a illustrates more or less diagrammatically a modification of the portion illustrated between the lines a-a and b-b of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2 illustrates more or less diagrammatically a modification of the portion illustrated between the lines cc and d-d of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation more or less diagrammatically showing the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 associated With a projector for projecting images of the markings on the tape onto a screen;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the projector illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmental plan of a scanning disc made according to one embodiment of the present invention in association with a piece of ticker tape to be scanned;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged iragmental plan of a disc at the receiving station in association with the tape to be marked;

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an end elevation of another embodis ment of the structure illustrated in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a iragmental plan view of the struc ture illustrated in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmental plan view showing a piece of tape having matter formed thereon in script which can be transmitted according to the present invention; and

Fig. 12 is a transverse section of a piece of tape provided with a coating sensitive to light or heat to be marked according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, there is shown a telegraph printer I for initially printing a message on the tape 2 in the well known manner and from which the tape 2 is ordinarily discharged as the message is printed. Preferably as shown, the tape feed rollers 3 of the printer I are held open and out of operation so that a continuously operated tape drawing roller 4 may without interference efiectively draw the tape 2 across the path of the light rays produced by the lamp 5.

The tape pulling roller 4 is preferably mounted on a shaft drivingly connected to the shaft 6 of 4 the motor I. The tape 2 is preferably maintained in frictional tape drawing engagement with the roller 4 by the spring pressed idler 8. From the roller 4, the tape 2 passes onto the rewind reel 9 which is preferably drivingly connected by the spring belt I0 with the roller 4. The light rays from the lamp 5 are directed by the reflector ll through the condensing lenses I 2 and [3 upwardly through the tape 2 onto the light sensitive mechanism M in the present instance consisting of a photo-electric cell.

The tape 2 in the present instance is guided by the idlers or rollers i5 and i6 adjacent to the ticker between which the tape 2 passes to and over the idler or roller ll beyond the path of the light rays from the lamp 5 and to maintain the tape 2 in a plane parallel to and directly below the scanning disc l8 mounted on the shaft 6. The scanning disc l8, see Figs. 5 and 6, is provided with a plurality of chamfered openings i3 disposed in a row concentric to a shaft 6. The openings 19 have their diminished ends adjacent the lower face of the disc l8, see Fig. 6. The shaft 6 and consequently the disc I8 is rotated at a suitable speed approximating twelve hundred or eighteen hundred revolutions per minute.

The light sensitive device [4 is preferably as illustrated in Fig. 1 disposed directly above the row of openings and the disc i8. Assuming the tape to be formed of some suitable translucent or transparent material, light rays will be intermittently projected by the lamp 5 through the tape and then through the openings I9 onto the light sensitive mechanism l4.

The condensing lenses l2 and I3 will be so disposed relative to the tape 2, disc l8 and light sensitive mechanism l4 that only those light rays will be passed to the light sensitive mech anism I4 which are permitted to pass through the openings IS.

The ink used by the printer I in the present instance is preferably composed of a suitable light interrupting substance, as a result of which the light rays will be interrupted by the sections of the characters 20 formed on the tape 2 and thus interrupt the passage of light rays through the openings IS.

The light sensitive mechanism l4 will cooperate with the disc l8 to transmit the light rays permitted to pass through the openings [9 as determined by the interruption effected by sec tions of the characters 28 to control the marking device at the receiving station in the manner now to be described.

As an instance, the light sensitive mechanism I4 is connected by the conductors 2i and 22 with the amplifier 23 at the sending station, which amplifier 23 is in turn connected by the conductor 24 with the amplifier 25 at the receiving station. The amplifier 23 is grounded by the conductor 26 and the amplifier 25 being grounded by the conductor 21. For long distances or where otherwise necessary, it is obvious that the electric impulses produced by the light sensitive mechanism l4 may take the form of a modulated carrier wave and associated with the amplifier 23 and line 24.

The amplifier 25 in the present instance which may be a plurality of tubes, has its last tube, as an instance the tube 28 connected with the transformer or high tension spark producing mechanism now to be described.

The tube 23 preferably has its plate connected by the conductor 29 with the primary winding 30 of a suitable transformer. A middle tap of the winding 30 is connected by the conductor 3| with a source of alternating current 32 which latter is connected by the conductor 33 with the conductor 34' of the filament 35 of the tube 28. The grid 36 of the tube 28 is in the present instance connected by the conductor 31 with the preceding tubes in the amplifier and similarly the filament 35 is connected by the conductor 38 with the preceding tubes in the amplifier.

The conductor 38 and thereby the filament 35 is preferably connected to the conductor 33. The battery 40 in the present instance is preferably connected to the conductors 39 and 34 by the conductors 4| and 42 respectively. The conductors 39 and 34 are in turn connected to the filament 43 of the tube 44 which is used as a balancing tube when alternating current is the source of electric current.

The plate 45 of this tube 44 is connected to the primary winding 30 by the conductor 46 and the grid 4"! of this tube is connected by the con.- ductor 48 with the rheostat 49 which is in turn connected to a suitable source of current 50 by the conductor 5| which source of current is in turn connected to the conductor 39 by the concluctor 52. The rheostat 49, that is its contact with the conductor 48, is set to impress a potential on the grid 41 of the tube 44- to produce a plate current of the same value as that of the plate current of the tube 28 which is determined by the incoming signal.

From the foregoing, it will thus appear that when a light ray is impinged upon the photo-electric cell l4 a corresponding electric impulse translation will be transmitted to the amplifier 23 and in turn to the amplifier 25 where the current established in the tube 26 will balance the tube 44 to magnetically neutralize, by means of center tap 3|, the primary winding 30. On the other hand, when a section of a character or marking 20 interrupts the passage of a light beam through the opening or series of openings i9, this interruption will prevent the transmission of the electric signal produced by photoelectric cell !4 and the amplifiers 23 and 25 in which case the current in the tube 28 will be correspondingly interrupted and its magnetic neutralizing effect on the other half of the winding 33 unbalanced. This permits the current flowing through the tube 44 and lower half of the primary winding 30 in turn to induce a high tension current in the secondary winding 53.

The secondary winding 53 is preferably provided with a safety gap as shown, the contacts 54 and 55 of which are connected to the ends of the winding 53 by the conductors 56 and 51 respectively. One end of the winding 53 is further connected by the conductor 58 to the electrode 59. The other end of the winding 53 is connected by the conductor 66 with the other electrode 6|, see particularly Fig. 8. Across the electrodes 6| in the present instance the tape to be marked is drawn, to wit the tape 62 passing from the supply roll 63 over the feed roller 64 to and beyond the discharge openings 65 formed in the housing 66. The tape 62 is preferably maintained in feeding engagement with the feed roller 64 by the pressure roller 61.

This feed roller 64 is drivingly connected to the motor 68, its shaft being provided with the beveled gear 69 in mesh with the beveled gear III on the shaft II, which shaft ll has the worm wheel 12 fixed thereon in mesh with a worm not shown on the shaft 13 of the motor 68.

The motors 68 and l are preferably synchronous motors in order to facilitate rotating the scanning disc l8 and the reproducing disc 14 at the same speed. In order to facilitate centering the printing message, the field frame of the motor is adjustable having the gear teeth 15 formed thereon in mesh with the screw 16 connected to the bracket 11.

The disc 14, see Figs. 7 and 8, is preferably composed of suitable non-conductive material and has mounted thereon a plurality of pins or styluses I composed of electric current conductive material. The styluses I8 in number equal the number of openings I9 in the disc I8. Furthermore, they are disposed concentric to the shaft I3 of the disc 14 and are arranged to be rotated successively into alignment with the two electrodes 59 and GI, see Figs. 7 and 8. The ends of the pins I8 are preferably pointed as illustrated in Fig. 8. One end of each stylus I8, the upper one looking at Fig. 8 passes to the lower face of the electrode 59 and the other end of each stylus 18, the lower end looking at Fig. 8 passes across the upper face of the tape 62 moving across the upper face of the electrode BI.

From the foregoing, it will thus appear that if a stylus I8 registers with the opposing electrodes 59 and 6| at the time that an opening I9 has its light shut off by a section of a character 20 a high tension spark will be caused to jump from the electrode 59 through the stylus 18 to the electrode BI, producing a perforation in the tape 62 during this process.

It will also appear from the foregoing that if the discs I8 and I4 are rotated at a speed sufficiently high a number of openings I9 will pass over a section 20 of a marking on the tape 2 before it crosses the path of the openings I9 as a result of which a succession of perforations will be produced in the tape 62 corresponding to the succession of openings scanning the tape 2 which have registered with the section of a marking 20 that has been scanned, resulting finally in a series of perforations in the tape 62 corresponding to the marking 20 on the tape 2.

If the tape 62 is composed of suitable opaque material, the perforations produced in the same by the electrodes 59 and 60 corresponding to the message transmitted may of course with facility cooperate with the projector in Fig. 3, the receiving station being equipped with a perforator such as illustrated in Fig. 8 for mounting in the casing 66 and the tape 62 as it passes from the orifice 65, see Fig. 1, is guided across the light aperture formed on the extension I9 of the lamp housing 80, the tape 62 being drawn across said extension 19 by the rewind reel 8| journaled in the bracket 02 and drivingly connected to the motor 93 by a belt preferably the spring belt 84.

The lamp housing 80 is preferably provided with a lamp, the light rays of which are directed to pass up through the perforations formed in the tape 62 to be received by the objective lens unit mounted in the housing 85 and directed by such objective lens unit onto the mirror 06 to be in turn directed onto the screen 01, in which case there will appear on the screen 81 illuminated characters corresponding to the perforations formed in the tape 62, against a dark background.

In place of the conductor 24, it is of course obvious that the amplifier 23 may be constructed to transmit or broadcast radio frequency carrier waves as illustrated in Fig. 1a by the broadcasting unit 08 and that the receiving station or amplifier 25 may be equipped with a receiving aerial 89 or the like and the amplifier 25 tuned to receive such radio frequency carrier waves.

It is also obvious that an interrupted D. C. current may be used in place of the alternating current source 32, see Fig. 2, in which the interrupted current source 90 is connected by the conductor 9| with one of the terminals of the filament 35 and with the balancing rheostat 92 and that the other terminal of the filament 35 is in turn connected to the battery 93 by the conductor 94, which battery 93 is in turn connected to the conductor 9| by the conductor 95. In the present instance, the rheostat 92 is connected by the conductor 96 with one end of the primary winding 30, see Fig. 1, and the conductor 91 is connected to the other end of the primary winding 30 of the transformer see Fig. 1, while the conductor 9 I connects the middle tap of the winding 30 with the interrupting current source 90.

It is of course obvious that the markings on the tape 2 may be formed manually in script as illustrated in Fig. 11 instead of by a printer, such as the printer I.

It is of course also obvious that instead of perforations in the tape 62, the receiving tape, as for instance the tape 62 may have opaque characters seared on the same or else an opaque coating, portions of which are decomposed to form transparent characters if the main body portion of the tape 52 is composed of a transparent or translucent substance, such for instance as cellophane tape or the like. If the tape is provided with a coating, such as citric acid or potassium iodide the coating can be readily broken down by a spark to form a seared or scarred mark or line. For this purpose, it is obvious that the spark can be of much less intensity than the high tension spark produced by the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 8.

The tape 62 in the present instance, see Fig. 9, preferably is caused to move across an insulated platform or abutment 98 which may be composed of rubber or the like. This platform 98, see Fig. 9, is preferably disposed directly beneath the insulated block 99 containing the two electrodes I00 and IN which are substituted for the electrodes 59 and 6| of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 8 and connected to the conductor, such for instance as the conductors 58 and 60 respectively of a wiring arrangement such as illustrated in Fig. 1.

With the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 9, there is used in place of the disc 14 illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8, a disc I4 which may conveniently consist of an insulated disc portion I02 through which pass a plurality of contact members I03. The contact members correspond in number and geometric arrangement to the openings I9 and are used in the present instance instead of the pins I8 of the embodiment illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8. The disc I02 has secured on one face thereof an annular insulating ring I04 and extending from the other face thereof an annular insulating collar I05. The annular members I04 and I cooperate with the contact pieces I03, each contact piece I03 consisting of two wires, to wit the wires I06 and I01 which extend through the annular member I04 with their free ends exposed at the outer surface of the annular member I04 and spaced apart to register with the free ends of the electrodes I00 and NI.

These wires I06 and I0! also extend through the disc I02 and are secured to the opposite faces of the annular member I05 with their free ends terminating at the adjacent end of the annular member I05 spaced apart to permit the production or jumping of a high tension spark from the wire I06 to the other wire I01 around the free end of the annular partition I05. The free end of the annular partition I05 is disposed to travel adjacent to and across the portion of the tape I52 passing over the block 98 in order to permit the successive contact pieces I03 to register with the electrodes I00 and IM in turn to cause the production of a spark around the free edge of the annular partition I05 when the opening IQ of the disc l8 geometrically corresponding to the contact piece I03 has no light rays or light beam passing therethrough.

The disc 14 as aforesaid cooperates with the disc 18 in all respects in practically the same manner as the disc 14 of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 8 cooperates with the disc l8, except as above pointed out.

From the foregoing, it will thus be seen that the tape 2 composed of translucent or transparent material with its light interrupting markings 2i] constitutes a master through which light is directed as this master is drawn across the path of movement of the openings IS in the scanning disc l8 whereby successive lineal areas of the tape 2 will be scanned in turn to effect the transmission of cones of light on the light sensitive mechanism I4 in turn to generate light impulses which will be electrically transmitted to an are generating mechanism produced by the transformer including the windings 30 and 53 and the current interrupter consisting of the tube 28 and winding 30 so that arcs will be generated to correspond with light interruptions when an opening or openings l9 register with a section or sections of the markings 20.

It would also appear that at the receiving station, there is provided a tape, such as the tape 62, which may according to one embodiment be composed of opaque material, see Fig. 8, when the arcs generated by the electrodes 59, 6| and the contact stylus 18 will form perforations in the tape 62 corresponding to the markings on the tape 2.

According to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 9, on the other hand, the tape 62" may as an instance be composed of translucent material and have formed thereon an opaque coating which will break down or chemically decompose with the formation of an arc to expose the translucent body portion of the tape to permit the passage of light therethrough to produce a luminous picture against a dark background of the message on a screen, such as the screen 81. On the other hand, the tape 62* according to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 9, when the arc does not pierce the tape, may have a light and/or heat sensitive surface coating which will be seared by, or exposed to, the arc to form a reproduction cf the markings on the tape 2.

The tape 62 may also have a chemically treated surface that under the influence of an electric current passing through it decomposes leaving one of its elements to provide the opaque or transparent areas at the exact spot or point as determined by the scanning disc l8. Potassium iodide for instance in its combined form is water clear and when the current passes through it as from electrode I05 to the coating on the tape 62 to the electrode I01, its passage through the potassium iodide coating liberates the free iodine and gives a very sharply defined point or line as long as and only When the current passes with a high degree of contrast. It is obvious that any suitable chemical combination can be used without departing from the spirit of the invention such as one having'opacity and upon electrolytic decomposition produces white lines or points. The high tension current in the form of the arc makes mechanical contact unnecessary.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to the details of construction without departing from the general spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

In a message transmitting system, the combination of a transmitting station and a receiving station, each station having a narrow record receiving strip, a strip advancer for continuously advancing the strip and a synchronous motor drivingly connected with said strip advancer; the strip at the transmitting station being translucent and having light interrupting markings thereon and the strip at the receiving station being opaque; the markings on the tape at the transmitting station reading longitudinally of the strip while being advanced and a scanning disc drivingly connected with the motor of said transmitting station, said scanning disc having a circular row of a predetermined number of openings con centric with its axis of rotation and drivingly connected with the motor of said transmitting station; the receiving station including a transformer having a pair of fixed electrodes, a safety gap connected in parallel with said fixed electrodes, a disc having a circular row of arc forming pins equal in number to the number of openings in the disc of said transmitting station and arranged in a circle concentric with its center of rotation, said pins being solid electrodes and presenting pointed ends toward said tape, the strip advancer of said receiving station advancing its strip between said pair of electrodes to cross the path of movement of said pins in a direction radial to said disc, the motor at the receiving station being drivingly connected with the disc at said receiving station to advance said pins across the strip at said receiving station into spark gap forming positions with said electrodes to thereby produce perforations simulating a reproduction on said strip while being advanced of the message transmitted; an electric impulse generator operatively associated with the light sensitive mechanism, and means for electrically transmitting to said transformer the electric impulses generated by said generator.

AUGUST D. EITZEN. 

